1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of containers with spouts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of containers have been provided with pouring spouts such as those disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
3,169,678 ISSUED TO H. E. Wilkinson;
3,616,961 ISSUED TO S. C. Mallorca; and
3,628,695 ISSUED TO C. F. Bryant. Liquids such as soft drinks are provided in metal containers having pull tab type tear strips. Such a tear strip is shown in the U. S. Pat. No. 3,473,705 issued to May which also discloses a spout extendable from the can. A similar variation is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,515 issued to Booth.
Many of the prior art spouts have been designed with the primary purpose of providing a pouring spout as compared to the sanitary drinking spout disclosed herein. My spout is mounted to the interior surface of the can and is not directly connected to the tear tab as in some of the prior art devices. Thus, by not connecting the spout directly to the tear tab, the possibility of tearing of the spout is eliminated and as a result, the spout may be produced from a wax covered paper. In addition, the spout is not connected to the can by a friction type of connection such as a hinge and instead is mounted directly to the can having a flexible portion resulting in lower costs and more reliable operations. The spout is adaptable to containers having tear drop shaped tear tabs or circular pivoting closures.